Dawn & Spike: Timeless Book 3 Timeless Again!
by The Bard2
Summary: Chaos reigns as The Powers That Be weaken, and worlds begin collapsing and merging, there are only 3 people that can save existence... Dawn, Spike and their daughter... (Sequal to Dawn & Spike: Timeless (Book 2 - The Demonic War))
1. Chapter 1 Incursion part 1

Title -Timeless Again! Part - 1 Part Title - Incursion part 1  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (the_bard@mtnexus.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
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Timeless Again! chapter 1 - Incursion part 1  
  
It was early in the year 2300 and while many things had changed Sunnydale had seemingly remained the same.  
  
Dawn sat on a bench atop the outcrop overlooking what was once the small town of Sunnydale. Her thoughts, as they did so often these days, centred on the past, and on her family. It had been over 200 years since the last member of the Scooby Gang had passed beyond. Xander had lasted longer than any of the others, maybe because he had romanced a demon for so long.  
  
Dawn felt a tear trickle down her cheek as she remembered all the fun things that she had done with her friends, from the birthday parties, to the demon research.  
  
She heard someone moving up the hill behind her, "Hi Spike."  
  
"Hey luv," the bleached blonde vampire responded as he sat beside her, "I thought you might be here."  
  
"Where I always am," Dawn said sadly.  
  
"And thinking about what you seem to always think about I'd bet."  
  
"Yeah," Dawn answered with a sad laugh, "The past."  
  
Spike moved closer to the brunette beauty, sliding his arm round her shoulders and pulling her to him. He could feel her silently sobbing. His heart ached for her, ever since he had gotten his soul back he had found himself drifting away from the woman he thought he'd loved and closer to her sister. When the Watcher's Council had discovered that Dawn wasn't aging, and after they determined that it was a side effect of the mystical energy flowing through her veins, Spike found himself spending more and more time with Dawn, and falling more and more in love with her.  
  
Twenty years after the discovery, Spike and Dawn had been married in a ceremony under the full moon on the summer solstice. The whole gang was there, her sister Buffy, Willow, Xander, Anya, Giles, Angel even came from LA for the ceremony. Willow and Giles had given Dawn the greatest gift they could, using their magicks they had called the spirit of her mother back from beyond so she could be there on what would possibly be her daughter's biggest day.  
  
That was the last time they had all been together, Giles had returned to England and was killed in a vampire attack less than a month later. Buffy was the next to pass beyond, she was taken by a heart attack of all things a year after Giles, next was Willow, she died as the result of a spell that backfired in 2050. Anya and Xander both lived for many years after the rest, but even vengeance demons age and die, and Anya passed on at the ripe old age of twelve hundred and one, Xander passed on less than a year later, it seemed to Dawn that he died of a broken heart.  
  
"C'mon luv, Lil' Dru's waitin' back home," Spike said as he moved Dawn away from him slightly.  
  
At the sound of her daughter's name Dawn seemed to rebuild herself, in front of Spike's eyes her face became the smooth one, the beautiful one he usually woke up to.  
  
"She must be worried about me." Despite being only 10, their daughter Drucilla was a very insightful young girl; she seemed to have an almost supernatural ability to know what other people are feeling.  
  
"Yeah, why else would I be here?"  
  
Dawn laughed, not a sad laugh this time, a happier one, the one Spike had loved hearing all those years ago.  
  
"C'mon luv," Spike said as he stood and held out his hand to Dawn, "Dru's waiting."  
  
Dru had been one unexpected consequence that no one had thought could happen, it was a well documented fact that vampires couldn't have children, but somehow both Angel and Spike had somehow had it happen to them, and the only thing in common they had was the fact that both vampires had human souls. The Watcher's council had decided that based on the Connor incident that a child conceived from either one or two vampire parents should be kept under surveillance, so to that end they had dispatched a surveillance team to Sunnydale to keep an eye on the family.  
  
  
  
The Summers residence had survived the transition from modern to more modern, thanks largely to the influence of the Watcher's Council. As Spike pulled the car up in front of the house, Dawn noticed that the front door was ajar.  
  
"Spike?"  
  
"I see it luv," Spike said as he leapt from the car and rushed, followed closely by Dawn, to the door, "Dru!"  
  
"Sweetie?" Dawn called out.  
  
"Mommy?" came an almost musical voice from upstairs.  
  
Dawn looked up to the top of the stairs, standing there was a young girl, with flowing brunette hair and icy blue eyes.  
  
"Dru, why was the door open?" Spike asked sternly.  
  
"The monsters opened it," Dru answered in that innocent voice that all ten year olds can do so perfectly.  
  
"The monsters?" Dawn glanced at Spike, "What monsters?"  
  
"Those ones," Dru said pointing behind them.  
  
Spike and Dawn spun round to see standing in the doorway several demons, one in particular Dawn wasn't really happy to see.  
  
"Spike, old buddy, long time no see," the demon with loose hanging skin and floppy ears said as he took a step forward.  
  
"Clem!" Spike said cheerfully as he stepped forward and clasped the demon's hand.  
  
"Hiya Dawnie, how ya been?"  
  
"Fine Clem, just fine, and you?"  
  
"Eh, cain't complain, although Spike's old crypt needs cable," Clem answered with a short laugh.  
  
"And who are these?" Dawn asked looking at the other two demons.  
  
"Max and Bob, We're looking for a fourth," Clem answered.  
  
"A fourth for what?" Dawn asked.  
  
Clem reached into his pocket and pulled out a mewling kitten, "Poker," he announced cheerfully.  
  
"You can deal me in then," Spike said.  
  
"Spike!" Dawn said in disbelief.  
  
"Wot?" Spike flashed her his most innocent look.  
  
"Alright, but not snacking, okay?"  
  
"No snacking? Can I have a beer?"  
  
"Yeah okay, but the kittens don't get hurt okay?"  
  
"Aww, but." Clem began.  
  
"No buts, this is non-negotiable," Dawn said putting her hands on her hips.  
  
"Aww, darn it, okay, ya got a deal."  
  
"Okay, go then, just try to bring my husband back in one piece."  
  
"Sure thing Dawnie," Clem said with a huge smile.  
  
"Don't be too late," Dawn said as she hugged Spike goodbye.  
  
Dru came flying down the stairs and latched herself onto Spike's leg, "Bye daddy."  
  
"Bye sweetie, I'll see you later," with that Spike turned and walked out of the door.  
  
Dru padded her way over to Dawn and wrapped her arm around her mother's leg.  
  
Dawn glanced out the door and looked at the sky, the sun was beginning to set, "Come on Dru, let's get you to bed."  
  
  
  
Dawn was sitting on the couch watching the television, and drifting slowly off to sleep. She wasn't sure what it was that made her sit up and glance around. When she tried to focus on the feeling she realised that it seemed like a case of déjà vu.  
  
**FLASH**  
  
Dawn, sat on the overlook, watching transports fly by. It was a beautiful day, a cool breeze blew in from the north. Sunnydale stretched for miles, no matter which way one looked. It was quite different from the beginning. Dawn felt a tear trickle down her cheek as she reminisced about Buffy and the others. A sense of overwhelming loneliness once again edged its way to her conscious.  
  
It was over 400 years since the last of the Scooby gang passed away. But Dawn still clung to those early memories.  
  
"Dawn!"  
  
"Oh, hi Spike," Dawn turned and looked at Spike coming up the path.  
  
"I was worried about you, " Spike said softly as he settled down beside Dawn.  
  
**FLASH**  
  
Dawn opened her eyes and found herself lying on her back on the floor, "What the."  
  
**FLASH**  
  
Dawn looked at Spike with her still stunning spectrum blue eyes, leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek.  
  
"I just wanted some time to think."  
  
Dawn looked at Spike. He didn't appear much older than he did when she first met him. Incredibly, neither did Dawn. She still looked much like a fourteen year old girl. It was learned several years after the "Beginning," that Dawn wasn't aging. Even though everyone else kept getting older, Dawn kept her radiant youth. This was something no one had expected. The Watchers surmised that the mystical energy within Dawn was keeping her from getting older. At the root of her being, she was still "The Key," which was almost as old as time itself.  
  
"We are going to have to leave, you know"  
  
"I know," Spiked sighed. "After all these years, who would've thought that our biggest worry would be the government of all things."  
  
Flash! "BANG!"  
  
"Must be 7:30," said Dawn looking up as she watched the faint vapour stream begin to form as the moon liner descended far above.  
  
"Do we have our tickets?" asked Dawn, looking at Spike.  
  
"Ya, no problems, paid plenty for em. Took most of our reserve."  
  
"Even though it has changed a lot, I will still miss this place."  
  
After all these many years Dawn and Spike had to leave. With the newest technology and the government's ability to track of its citizens, they had become noticed. Some clerk in the bureaucracy had noticed that Dawn should be dead, according to all records, but when it was learned she was still alive and looked like a young girl all hell broke loose. Dawn found herself dealing with some local government officials who were asking too many questions, then the federal investigators showed up and the nightmare started.  
  
Spike and Dawn were escaping. They had their tickets and were scheduled to be on the next moon liner, the onto Mars. Hopefully, they could get lost in the "water rush." Water had been discovered on Mars and everyone wanted in on it. Fresh water was at a premium, millions could be made. Settlers on Mars were being encouraged. Not many questions asked.  
  
**FLASH**  
  
"Dawn?" Spike's voice intruded into her hearing.  
  
"What?"  
  
"What happened? I came home and you were on the floor, out cold."  
  
Dawn flashed Spike a very frightened look, "I. I don't know."  
  
To be continued in Timeless Again! - Incursion part 2 


	2. Chapter 2 Incursion part 2

Title -Timeless Again! Part - 2 Part Title - Incursion part 2  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (the_bard@mtnexus.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
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Timeless Again! Chapter 2 - Incursion part 2  
  
In the darkness there floated a body, it was decidedly female, with curves in all the right places. Her hair was long and flowing, and a brunette color with slight blonde tinges. She was breathing, barely although there was a distinct lack of air to breath.  
  
The woman curled herself into a ball; if one listened closely one could hear a whimpering sound coming from the woman.  
  
  
  
"Dawn?" came Spike's voice.  
  
"What?" the brunette woman asked in confusion as she sat up.  
  
"What happened? I came home and you were on the floor, out cold." The vampire said as he helped her sit up  
  
Dawn flashed Spike a very frightened look, "I... I don't know."  
  
"I was just sitting here drifting off to sleep and..."  
  
**FLASH**  
  
Dawn and Spike settled in and things went as usual, for a while. They easily adapted to their vampire like life-style. Up all night, sleeping most of the day. When they had to, they used the tunnels that still permeated most of old Sunnydale. Unlike many married couples, their love seemed fresh and new everyday. Even though they had lived and loved for hundreds of years, each day seemed like a new experience. This style of living was not because Spike had to stay out of the sun, but they needed to stay hidden. Dawn's apparent immortality had become known and this created a considerable amount of interest, to say the least. The "government" was now searching for them everywhere, except in Spike's ancient crypt.  
  
Spike and Dawn had lived through countless wars, and two world wars, Three and Four. The world finally came to its senses in 2215 and a world government was formed and was given absolute power to govern and had the final say over any disputes, wherever they might occur. Since that time, the peoples of the earth focused on eradicating crime and by the year 2400, any crimes against a person were dealt with swiftly by the world government. Workers were needed in such places as the moon tunnels and in the Martian settlements. Once sent to these places, the convicted were never seen again. When people began to realize what happened when one committed a crime, the incidence of crimes against other persons seemed to take a dive. Special Courts have been set up to handle disputes between persons, no matter how large or small. Over the past 100 years people have come to rely heavily on these and abide by whatever the ruling might be. The other great world focus was searching for resources throughout the solar system. Man still had not conquered the time/distance issue. Although spaceships could approach a speed near the speed of light, it was simply impossible to reach it. Einstein was right. Robot ships still reached for the outer most planets. Man simply did not live long enough to survive a trip to the outer planets, let alone other galaxies. It took enormous resources to explore Mars and Venus. It has only been within the past 75 years that the algae seeded on Mars in late 2300 began to take effect. Now there is breathable air, new forms of life, and of course, Man. Trying to do anything with Venus was abandoned.  
  
Throughout all of these years, Dawn still had not fully grasped her powers. Actually, since the Wicca leaders used her power to move Earth back into orbit 500 years ago, her "powers" have not been taped. All that Dawn knows is that she is The Key. She knows she can be used to bring down the walls between dimensions, can be used to move things through dimensions, and apparently has been given immortality by the essence of mystical power within her. But, even after all this time, she has not ever used her power for herself. The only other development, is that she loves Spike completely.  
  
Late one day in 2516, Dawn woke, she had been dreaming of "the beginning" and Buffy. Even though Spike lay at her side, she suddenly felt so alone. She quietly got up and walked over to the mirror hanging on the rock wall. As she looked at herself, she noted that she was emitting a greenish glow. Her dream had been emotional, her cheeks were still damp from crying in her sleep, as she looked at herself, she thought about Buffy and, suddenly she felt as if someone had put a tuning fork against her head, there was a loud silent break or something, as she stood there, she realized the, the mirror was gone!  
  
**FLASH**  
  
"Luv?" Spike shook her gently, "Hey Dawn!"  
  
"Wha...?"  
  
"Something happened, you... you glowed."  
  
"Glowed?"  
  
"Yeah, a green color."  
  
"I... I... I don't under..."  
  
**FLASH**  
  
Dawn found herself floating in nothingness, everywhere she looked there was all total blackness, no matter where she looked there was nothing. But she could hear a sound, a whimpering and it seemed to be coming from behind her...  
  
**FLASH**  
  
"...stand," Dawn said as she collapsed to the floor.  
  
"Dawn!" Spike cried, "Dawn!"  
  
**FLASH**  
  
"Hey little-bit, what're you doing here?"  
  
Dawn turned and there was Spike, dressed like he used to dress, in his black coat, shirt, and pants.  
  
"Oh Spike, I had the weirdest thing just happen" as she ran over and put her arms around him and put her head up to give him a kiss."  
  
"Hey, wha, hey, what are your doing! My god, Buffy sees you doing that and she'd run a light pole though my chest!"  
  
Dawn, backed up, staring at Spike. "What, what do you mean? God Spike we've been making love for over 400 years, what do you mean?  
  
Spike starred at Dawn. Then he noticed her clothes were quite different from anything he had ever seen. As he kept looking at her he felt the little hairs on the back of neck began to move. His eyes became wide, and he looked closer. "Dawn, tell me exactly what you mean."  
  
"What I mean. What do you mean what I mean. Spike, you and me, for the past four centuries, what do you mean what do I mean," almost yelling now and beginning to sound a little hysterical.  
  
"Spike, have you seen Da., oh, she's here, what are you doing here?" Buffy asked as she came across the crypt looking very unhappy and standing with her arms tightly crossed.  
  
Dawn stood, taking it all in, stunned beyond belief, how, how could, when I looked in the mirror, I was thinking of Buffy and I was glowing, I'm back. I'm here with Buffy and Spike doesn't even know we have been lovers for four centuries. Dawn suddenly lost her ability to stand any longer and went down on to the floor.  
  
"Dawny, are you okay?" Buffy said while she knelt down to take a good look at Dawn.  
  
Spike was taking this all in and was already putting it together.  
  
"Buffy, Buffy"  
  
"What is it Spike, and why is Dawn here and why has she got those weird clothes on? What the hell has been going on!"  
  
All Dawn could do is croak, "Buffy" before she fainted.  
  
When she woke, she was in her own bed in the house she hadn't seen for over 400 years. She found herself having trouble breathing. She sat up.  
  
"Oh Dawny! How's my girl?" Willow said as she entered the room.  
  
Dawn sat looking at Willow as if she were in a dream. "Oh Willow" as she got up and put her arms around her and hugged her for all she was worth.  
  
"Dawny, are you alright?"  
  
"I don't know"  
  
"Do you want to tell me about it?"  
  
Dawn sat down holding Willow's hand, afraid to let go. Willow sat down next to her looking at Dawn intently.  
  
"Willow, there is something I need to tell you."  
  
Willow starting nodding her head, hoping it had nothing to do with maybe going too far with whoever.  
  
Dawn began to tell Willow what she thought had happened and where she had come from. This time it was Willow's turn to feel faint. "Oh my God, Dawny." Then Dawn, looking at Willow began to cry and so did Willow as they hugged each other.  
  
"What's going on, and who.. Oh, my, how, who..you..what.." said Dawn with the roundest eyes ever as she stood in the door way looking at Willow, hugging her! As she backed out of the room, she suddenly felt weak, as did Dawn who was sitting with Willow. What, wha..as she slipped to the floor in a faint.  
  
Buffy came up the stairs just in time to see Dawn back out of the room and slide down the wall. "Dawny, are you ok?" as she bent down she looked into the room and almost followed Dawn to the floor. Sitting in the room was Willow, with Dawn on the bed.  
  
Dawn's presence was causing more problems than anyone could've guessed. She realized that the future could never be the same. It was at that moment she decided that she had to fix it. If she could go back in time, then she should be able to go the other way too. After all, isn't time a dimension. That's what she does, she is used to move things through dimensions, maybe her "real" power is that she is able to move herself through time. It hit her like an electric jolt. "Of course, that's it. That is what I am able to do. I could go back to the very beginning of time, or go to the end of time." Both of those thoughts gave her the chills. She needed some time to figure out how she could set everything right.  
  
**FLASH**  
  
Dawn opened her eyes and looked up at Spike, "What's happening?"  
  
"I dunno luv, but you were glowing again, and glowing brighter."  
  
"Glowing green?"  
  
"Yeah," Spike looked at her with concern.  
  
"I'm having..."  
  
**FLASH**  
  
To say the meal was a little different, would qualify as the understatement of the millennium. At the table, sat Dawn staring across the table at Dawn. The rest of the Scoobies had arrived as soon as word got out. Here sat two identical Dawns. One was an obstinate 14 year old with all the mannerisms to match and the other a sophisticated woman, who also looked every bit 14, but who's mannerisms betrayed a considerably older, wiser, mature woman. Spike was beside himself and for once in his life, totally speechless, as was about everyone. To lessen the confusion, Joyce, Buffy's mom, suggested that they refer to the less mature Dawn as Dawny and the more mature Dawn as Dawn. It would go down as one of the more incredible experiences of the scoobies, ever. Xander was the first to break the icy silence.  
  
"So, Dawnster, uh..."  
  
Both looked at him with their eyebrows raised. Then looked at each other and began to laugh. Unintentionally, Xander had broken the spell. Then all began talking at once. Since Dawn had already decided what it was that she needed to do, she was able to let down a little and began to discuss the future in vivid detail, much to everyone's delight. She left out her relationship with Spike, knowing how much that would disturb just about all of them. Even though she wasn't sure she should even be there, it felt so good to see everyone again. She about died when she realized she had come back before her mom had succumbed to the tumour. There was so much hugging and kissing and hugging some more.  
  
However, Dawn was relatively well read and quite aware of the various theories regarding time travel. She prayed to god, that her being there wasn't creating some kind of time flux in the space-time continuum that could destroy the universe. On the other hand, that was what she was created for. She had to smile. Dawny was the most curious. She kept asking question after question, who would she marry, when would she marry, would she have any kids, etc. etc. etc. Dawn was reluctant to say anything about her future relationship with Spike, although Spike was already well aware of it from her comments in the crypt. Her occasional fleeting look at him told him all he needed to know. If he could just get alone for a while. After the long meal, people began to go their various ways. Dawny had to go to school, Xander to work, etc. Dawn spent a long time with her mother and Buffy. Letting them know she would be alright. It was then that Buffy realized that Dawn wasn't going to be around much longer. Dawn explained to both Buffy and to her mother that she had to leave, she had to set things as they were. She was so glad she was able to come back and see them again. The tears that followed engulfed them all. It all seemed so surreal.  
  
Dawn left with Spike later in the morning. She took out two small mirrors that she had "borrowed." One she hung on the wall in the crypt, the other she put back in her pocket.  
  
"So Dawn, we are lovers, you and me, in the future I mean?"  
  
"Yes Spike, " said Dawn looking at Spike with a twinkle in her eyes. "I will see you again, I promise."  
  
Spike looked at Dawn and began to understand, "I will miss you" finding that he suddenly had developed a lump down deep in his throat.  
  
"Not for long, really."  
  
Dawn placed the mirror on the wall. She knew she had to do this, she had to make it right. She looked at Spike and realized how much she loved him and felt the emotional surge, she began to glow, she looked into the mirror, she knew what she had to do, for all of them, there was a flash, not really a flash, but something occurred.  
  
Dawn was standing in the crypt, just as she had when she first arrived. She took out the other small mirror she had borrowed from Dawny's room and put it on the little nook in the wall, where the other had been.  
  
"Hey little-bit, what're you doing here?"  
  
**FLASH**  
  
Dawn realised it had happened again, in mid-sentence no less, "... visions."  
  
"Visions? What kind of visions?" it was a voice she didn't recognise.  
  
"Who...?"  
  
The woman kneeling to Dawn's left looked confused for a second, "Oh," she said nodding and sending her red hair bobbing around her shoulders, "I'm sorry, I'm Victoria Rosenberg, Watcher's Council."  
  
To be continued in Timeless Again! 3 - Incursion part 3 


	3. Chapter 3 Incursion part 3

Title -Timeless Again! Part - 3 Part Title - Incursion part 3  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (the_bard@mtnexus.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
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Timeless Again! Chapter 3 - Incursion part 3  
  
Dawn stared up at Victoria, "Victoria? Rosenberg?"  
  
"As in Willow, yes," Victoria nodded.  
  
"What are you..."  
  
"Doing here? I was sent to warn you, there's something wrong, the seers have been in a panic for the past week, they were finally able to localise it to here... to you."  
  
"Me? What? Why?"  
  
**FLASH**  
  
"It is done." Joseph said.  
  
Dawn felt a tingle all over her body, which had started to give off a bright green glow. Her body began to morph, it looked to Buffy and Joseph as if her body was aging. Soon her body reached it's peak age of 25. She felt her powers increasing and her control of them improving. Her hair took on a glow that made sunlight look dark. Her clothes changed too, they became pure white and more elegant.  
  
Dawn felt something hard pressing against her back, she moved her arm backwards already knowing what it would find. Her hand wrapped round the handle and she drew her sword, it was pure green and glowed in the light, she stared at it with a smile on her face.  
  
"Wow." her voice was different it had a quality that made the hair on the back of people's necks stand on end.  
  
"Glad you like it little sis." Buffy said, "And now it's time to go."  
  
"The duplicate will be identical to me?" Dawn asked.  
  
"Yes it will act and think like you it is essentially you, we have done something similar to what you have when you brought your family back." Joseph said.  
  
"Let's go, I want to go and save Spike." Dawn said leading the way into the portal, which closed behind them.  
  
The duplicate Dawn took her seat and began reading the reports that were on the desk.  
  
**FLASH**  
  
"It happened again didn't it?" Victoria asked.  
  
"Y...yes, the future, I think." Dawn began to bring her hands up to rub her eyes when she noticed that they were glowing a faint green color, "What the...?"  
  
"I don't know you've been like that for a few minutes, Spike could you go get a glass of water for Dawn?" Victoria asked as she helped Dawn get up onto the couch.  
  
"Sure thing," Spike moved off towards the kitchen.  
  
"Dawn whatever is happening to you is destabilizing the timeline, the seers can see danger approaching."  
  
**FLASH**  
  
Dawn found herself back in the black place, only this time the whimpering was coming from in front of her, very close to her in fact, so close that if she just reached her hand out... There, her hand touched cloth. She wrapped her hand around it and pulled whatever it was to her.  
  
It turned out to be the body of a teenager, her face was covered by her blonde tinted brunette hair. Dawn stroked the hair away from her face to reveal...  
  
**FLASH**  
  
Suddenly Dawn was sitting on the couch with the other woman curled on her lap  
  
"Dawn? What the...?" Spike dropped the glass she he saw who she was holding.  
  
"Help her, please," she pleaded.  
  
Cradled in her arms was... herself, only there were differences between Spike's Dawn and the other one. The new Dawn had blonde tints to her hair as well as a slightly less mature look to her.  
  
Victoria move to take the new Dawn from Dawn's arms, "Let me take her, go and get the Watchers from the grey Sedan, tell them code 65-Red."  
  
"I... I... No, I have to stay with her."  
  
"We can't help her if we can't examine her, please, you wanted us to help, let us."  
  
"O-Okay," Dawn let go of the new Dawn and stood up and made her way to the door, "S-Spike, go make sure Dru's asleep, we can't have her seeing this."  
  
"Dru's gone to spend the night at Jen's house," Spike told her.  
  
Dawn knew that Jen was Dru's best friend and lived just two houses down the street, but Dawn didn't remember Anything about Dru spending the night there, and she said as much.  
  
"No, it was after your first... episode, I decided that she'd be better off there, you did say goodbye to her, and gave her a hug," Spike gave her a confused look, "You really don't remember do you?"  
  
"No, I..."  
  
"The Watchers! Now!" Victoria called urgently.  
  
In a rush Dawn disappeared out the door and returned in less than a minute followed by two men that could only be described as official. They had the look that most 20th century FBI agents had.  
  
"What's a code 65-red?" Dawn asked as she sat back on the couch.  
  
"It's a supernatural occurrence that could unravel the fabric of reality, believe it or not but you've been at the center of 3 code 65-reds, more than anyone else on record."  
  
"She's still breathing," announced the first man, he was a portly man with a receding hairline.  
  
"Her quantum reading is off though," the second man said, he had attached what looked like a bulky watch to the other Dawn's wrist.  
  
"How off?" Victoria asked.  
  
"Uh 297 years, huh, that puts it in..."  
  
"2003," Dawn interrupted.  
  
"But you didn't look like that in 2003," Spike said, "You never had tints added to your hair."  
  
"No I didn't."  
  
"Then how...?"  
  
"Quantum universes," Victoria said, "There exist an infinite number of universes each one splitting off from every decision ever made, there's no way to know where this Dawn came from."  
  
The other Dawn began whimpering again as she curled up tightly into a ball.  
  
"We should get her to a hospital, she's dehydrated, and I think she may have neurological problems," the second man said looking pointedly at Victoria.  
  
"Okay, take the Sedan, get her to Sunnydale Emergency Medical Center, I'll take the Mercedes and follow you," Victoria said, "I'll bring Dawn and Spike."  
  
"Yes, ma'am," the first man said as he and the other man lifted the other Dawn up and manoeuvred her out the door.  
  
"Take care of her, please," Dawn pleaded.  
  
"We will ma'am," the first man said before he disappeared out the door.  
  
"Are you sure there's no way of finding out where she comes from?" Spike asked.  
  
"Yes, there is absolutely no way, as far as the Watcher's Council know," Victoria sat down on the couch.  
  
"But there is a way I can find out," Dawn said as she took the seat opposite the couch.  
  
"How?" Victoria and Spike both asked in unison.  
  
"I can..."  
  
**FLASH**  
  
It had been four days since Dawn had travelled back through time and she was feeling a little uncomfortable around Spike, it was as if her subconscious was pleading with her to tell him what she had done. She had tried to tell him the day after she got back but she found she didn't have the words to do it.  
  
"What is it Dawn?" Spike had asked with that slight upturn of the corner of his mouth that Dawn liked so much.  
  
"Just thinking." had been her reply and Spike seemed to realise that it was something that she wasn't ready to share. But that was three days ago and now . Now Dawn was ready to tell him what had happened.  
  
"Spike?" Dawn whispered in his ear.  
  
"Mmm?" Spike said without stopping the nuzzling he was doing.  
  
"Spike. Stop." Dawn said more forcefully, "I have something to tell you."  
  
Spike leaned back in the chair he was sitting in. They were where the spent most of their time these days, back in Spike's old crypt.  
  
Dawn, who was straddling Spikes legs looked at him and remembered the exact moment she realised she was in love with him. She shook her head and went on.  
  
"Spike, I have to tell you, about what happened four days ago." Dawn told him everything where she had gone what she had done and why she did it.  
  
"So, it's begun?" Spike said in a funny tone.  
  
"What's begun?" Dawn asked looking puzzled.  
  
"You can move through time, I was dreading this day." Spike said picking her up off his legs and standing her on her own legs.  
  
"Why? What's going to happen?" Dawn asked looking even more puzzled.  
  
"Do you remember about five hundred years ago, when we were attacked by that Devsh'k demon?" Spike asked, he was pacing now looking worried.  
  
"Yea, that was the one that tried to get you to help him right?" Dawn said taking Spike's seat after a moment thinking.  
  
"Yea that's the one, well just before I got 'recruited' by him I was in Willie's place talking with an old friend, Jimmy, he's a Corlake'a demon, I first met him about three years after I became a vampire but in 1921 he was in Switzerland, and so was I apparently and I was with a companion that he had never seen before, I didn't have time back in 2001 to ask him about it but I caught up with him in 2034 and got the full story from him." Spike paused looking at Dawn, "The companion he described was a young looking humanoid shape, but not human, she, according to Jimmy was powerful and she had the most stunning spectrum blue eyes and brunette hair." he finished staring at Dawn's stunning spectrum blue eyes and brunette hair.  
  
"Me?" Dawn asked in amazement.  
  
**FLASH**  
  
"... move through time," Dawn finished before falling to the ground out cold.  
  
Spike leapt to catch her, "Dawn!"  
  
To be continued in Timeless Again! 4 - Flexible History 


	4. Chapter 4 Flexible History

Title -Timeless Again! Part - 4 Part Title - Flexible History  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (the_bard@mtnexus.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
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Timeless Again! Chapter 4 - Flexible History  
  
The other Dawn was in a hospital bed, in a private room. She was hooked up to an IV that was feeding her glucose and fluids.  
  
"She's suffering from severe dehydration and a concussion, although there's no sign of trauma," the attending doctor told Victoria, Dawn and Spike.  
  
"When can we talk to her?" Victoria demanded.  
  
"As soon as she wakes up, I'll let you know, okay?"  
  
"Fine," Victoria said with a wave of her hand.  
  
"You can wait in the visitors lounge, if you'd like."  
  
Dawn reached to shake the doctor's hand, "Thank..."  
  
**FLASH**  
  
"... you" Dawn said as she stood and picked up her bag.  
  
She was in what looked like an office, she looked up to meet the face of the person she had just thanked. It was her high school principal, Mr Fielding.  
  
"Get to class Dawn, before you're late."  
  
"Yes, sir," Dawn nodded as she headed for the door.  
  
"And can you please send in your sister?"  
  
"Sure," Dawn opened the door and stepped out into the reception area, "Hey Buffy, Fielding want's to see you."  
  
"What did you do now?" Buffy scowled at her.  
  
"Nothing, I think he's impressed by what you did in the basement."  
  
"If you say so," Buffy said as she got up and headed into the principal's office.  
  
"Ah Miss Summers, please have a seat," Fielding said indicating the seat on the other side of the desk to him.  
  
"Thank you, can I ask why...?"  
  
"You're here because you did something that most teachers here have been struggling to do," Fielding paused looking at Buffy, "You go three of the habitually students to class on time, early in fact."  
  
"Oh... Um, it was nothing."  
  
"How would you like a job here?" Fielding leaned forward and rested his elbows on his desk.  
  
"A-a job? What type of job?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Guidance Councillor."  
  
"Don't you need some sort of degree for that?"  
  
"Usually, yes, but as principal I have discretion to hire the people I feel are qualified for certain positions, and while you might not have the academic qualifications, you do have the life experiences needed for the job."  
  
"T-thank you, I'm not sure what else to say."  
  
"Well then, when can you start?"  
  
"Well... today if you like."  
  
"Very well, I'll show you to your office," Fielding got up from behind his desk and headed for the door, when he opened it he almost fell over Dawn who had been listening at the door, "Dawn? I thought I told you to go to class?"  
  
"I'm sorry, I... I wanted to know what you wanted to speak to Buffy about."  
  
"Dawn. Class. Now." Buffy said coming up behind Fielding.  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." Dawn began.  
  
"It's okay, just get to class," Buffy said.  
  
"Okay," Dawn said as she turned and walked down the hall to her English class.  
  
  
  
Dawn spent the rest of the day almost in a haze, she couldn't believe that her sister had gotten a job here. Here, at her school no less. Granted, she thought to herself, Buffy did go here for 3 years, but still that didn't give her the right to come in and work here.  
  
"Dawn?" Janice's voice intruded on her inner thoughts.  
  
"Huh?" Dawn looked up at her best friend.  
  
"I said, what are you doing after school?"  
  
"Oh, um I dunno, probably just going home."  
  
"Coz we ere thinking of heading to the mall and hanging."  
  
"Who's we?"  
  
"Jimmy, Mac, Billy, Vicky and me, and hopefully you," Janice gave her a pleading look.  
  
"Yeah okay, I think Buffy'll let me go."  
  
"Hey, I heard Victoria saying that your sister got a job here."  
  
"Yeah," Dawn gave her a very sour look.  
  
"Man you must feel bummed, that's like bad karma or something."  
  
"Don't I know..."  
  
**FLASH**  
  
Dawn sat on a bench atop the outcrop overlooking what was once the small town of Sunnydale. Her thoughts, as they did so often these days, centred on the past, and on her family. It had been over 200 years since the last member of the Scooby Gang had passed beyond. Xander had lasted longer than any of the others, maybe because he had romanced a demon for so long.  
  
Dawn felt a tear trickle down her cheek as she remembered all the fun things that she had done with her friends, from the birthday parties, to the demon research.  
  
She heard someone moving up the hill behind her, "Hi Spike."  
  
"Hey luv," the bleached blonde vampire responded as he sat beside her, "I thought you might be here."  
  
"Where I always am," Dawn said sadly.  
  
"And thinking about what you seem to always think about I'd bet."  
  
"Yeah," Dawn answered with a sad laugh, "The past."  
  
**FLASH**  
  
"... it," Dawn whispered as she fell to the ground, the last ting she saw was Janice rushing to her side.  
  
  
  
"Dawn? Dawn are you awake?" it was Buffy's voice.  
  
"Unnn?" Dawn tried to speak but she found that her mouth wasn't working right.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"I... I... ah... I dunno, I think I saw... saw..."  
  
"Saw what?" Buffy looked at her sister, she thought she could see the truth in her eyes but she had to make sure, "What did you see?"  
  
"I... ah think it was the future, Spike was there, but it was daytime, Spike was out in the daylight, and I felt something, I think I loved him."  
  
"Are you sure of that?"  
  
"I dunno, I think so, why?"  
  
"I wasn't supposed to tell you this, it happened back before mom died, you..."  
  
**FLASH**  
  
"Dawn? It happened again, didn't it?" Spike asked as he let go of her.  
  
"Yeah, am I still glowing?"  
  
"No, you stopped after you brought that other Dawn here."  
  
"The other Dawn, she... she's from 2002, not 2003, it's sometime after she started Sunnydale High."  
  
"But... Buffy destroyed Sunnydale High, way back in 1999, they built over it in 2003, built a shopping mall if I remember right."  
  
"But... something... something is different." Dawn looked around for Victoria, "Where's Victoria?"  
  
"She went to talk to the Council, see if they had any ideas."  
  
"We need to get to the hall of records, we need plans of the old Sunnydale High."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"We're going back."  
  
"Back? Back to where? The school doesn't exist any more."  
  
Dawn looked at him, her face was very serious, "Not where. When."  
  
To be continued in Timeless Again! 5 - Back to the Past 


	5. Chapter 5 Back to the Past

Title -Timeless Again! Part - 5 Part Title - Back to the Past  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (the_bard@mtnexus.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. Misty owns the story Earth Moves (it can be read at http://www.is-this- blood.com ), an except from which was used here. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
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Timeless Again! Chapter 5 - Back to the Past  
  
"Dawn wait!" Spike rushed after her, "You have no idea how to move through time, you don't even know if you can!"  
  
"I know I can, I know how, The Wiccan Council showed me how back when the righted the Earth's orbit."  
  
"What? What the hell are you talking about?"  
  
"Back in 2001, The Wiccan Council used the powers of The Key to correct a flaw in the Earth's orbit, if they hadn't the Earth would have frozen and all life ceased centuries ago."  
  
"Dawn, that never happened!"  
  
"What?" Dawn spun round to face him.  
  
"That didn't happen, none of it."  
  
"Then... But I remember that happening, I remember..."  
  
**FLASH**  
  
The leader looked at Dawn. He was measuring out his thoughts and taking time to explain, yet there was a sense of urgency.  
  
"Dawn, you are The Key."  
  
"I know," said Dawn, starting to feel a little uneasy.  
  
"There is no other way to say this. Recently, we set time back for you to correct an incident that had taken place. Of this you are not aware."  
  
"What!" exclaimed Dawn. "How, did..."  
  
"Because we did that," the elderly man continued, "A change occurred in the earth's orbit, the earth is moving away from the sun. If we don't do something in the next hour, every living creature, including us, will eventually perish."  
  
At that point, Dawn began to notice how dark it was outside and suddenly felt very, very cold. A twinge of fear also began to grow from deep inside as she realized that since she was the cause of all this, maybe they would be making another trip to the tower.  
  
"If, if I have to give my life, to, to save, I mean, I will," said Dawn, her voice beginning to crack, she was trembling, and tears were beginning to stream down her cheeks.  
  
The elderly man looked astonished.  
  
Giving Dawn a look of deep affection and tenderness, "Dawn, we are not asking for you to sacrifice yourself." At that point, he went over to Dawn and gave her a warm hug saying, "Though I know you would." There were tears glistening at the corners of his eyes. Looking at Dawn, he knew how precious she was and was so very glad that they had done what they had done, even though it created the present problem.  
  
"Dawn, you are the only being alive with the power that can possibly change the current events."  
  
"How, how, what do I need to do?" asked Dawn, feeling a little better now that she knew she wasn't about to be sacrificed on the tower.  
  
"Dawn, your powers are dimensional. You are able to move things between dimensions. We do not fully understand all that you are capable of and I will not pretend that we do. However, we want to try and use your power to move the earth through another dimension and back to its original orbit."  
  
Dawn stood there speechless, then whispered, "move the earth!"  
  
"Me?"  
  
"Actually Dawn, it will be us, we just need to use your power."  
  
Dawn was beginning to feel a little uneasy again, maybe it would have been better to have been sacrificed, this could be worse, she was thinking.  
  
"Dawn, we cannot do this without your willingness to let us." There was a pause, then he continued, "Dawn, we will need to enter your mind. It is the only way, but we can only do this if you let us."  
  
"What do I do?"  
  
At that moment several more people appeared. They moved a comfortable chair to the center of the room. The leader spoke with the others. There was another flash and he held a small flask.  
  
"Dawn, please come over here and sit in the chair."  
  
Dawn did as she was asked.  
  
"Dawn, we are going to give you something to help you relax yet at the same time, hopefully amplify your powers by boosting a level of deep emotion."  
  
Dawn's eyes became big and round, "You mean I have to dream again, like about Kevin?" Blushing.  
  
"No Dawn, we are aware that strong feelings bring about your powers." There was a pause while he looked intently at Dawn, then continued slowly, "we want you to think of your sister, Buffy."  
  
Dawn was not prepared for that. "What?"  
  
We need to evoke the most powerful emotional state we can, we need for you to think about Buffy and how you feel about her, but first drink this.  
  
Dawn suddenly knew she wasn't going to like this. "How could they ask me to do this?" she thought to herself as she took the flask. Looking at everyone, she put it to her lips and drank all that it contained, the sweet tasting fluid seemed to slowly float down her throat. "There!"  
  
The Arch Warlock began speaking in his deepest, most sonorous voice that seemed to penetrate her very being, "Dawn, relax, let yourself become very relaxed, think of your sister while you feel yourself slipping into the sleep, you are going to have a dream about your sister Buffy and all that she means to you. Now, relax, relax, let yourself fall asleep, think of your sister....."  
  
Dawn felt herself becoming limp, "I don't want....." her head fell back, caught by waiting hands. She felt herself falling back, back, "Oh god, Buffy!"  
  
All of those present formed a circle around Dawn and the Arch Warlock.  
  
Dawn found herself on the tower with Buffy. Buffy was telling her that she loved her and that she must be brave and live. Dawn felt herself giving into the overwhelming emotion of the moment.  
  
In the room, an awesome sight was unfolding. Willow and Tara were watching from outside the circle. They had not been included because even as powerful as they were, the powers of those who made the circle were many times greater. As they watched, Dawn began to glimmer, then suddenly began to give off a beautiful shimmering greenish glow, then the glow of the pure energy turning brighter until they could no longer look. In the center of the energy, barely visible now, sat Dawn, tears streaming down her cheeks as she dreamed of all that was Buffy.  
  
She became aware of a presence with her. She was a small child and was being held in Buffy's arms, Buffy was stroking her hair, telling her how much she loved her and missed her. Caressing her cheeks, gently kissing her on the forehead, telling her she was not alone and that she was loved. I will always be with you. Then a voice, "Dawny, I miss you so much. Dawn was looking at her mother."  
  
Dawn opened her eyes. Her checks were wet as was her shirt. She had been crying. The sun was shining bright. It seemed warm. Standing next to her was the Arch Warlock, he was holding her hand and smiling.  
  
**FLASH**  
  
"It happened, I know it did, and I know how they did it."  
  
"This is nuts Dawn, you have no idea what you're planning to do, what'll you do when you get back there?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"What if you meet yourself?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"What if someone else sees you?"  
  
"I don't know goddamn it!"  
  
"Then take me with you, I can help, remember I'm an expert at hiding."  
  
"I can't, my power isn't that strong, I can take me and that's it."  
  
"And what if you can't get back?"  
  
"I'll find a way, I can always ask the Wiccan Council for help."  
  
"This is crazy!" Spike exclaimed.  
  
"Yes, it is, but crazy times call for crazy measures, and these are crazy times," as Dawn stood there looking at Spike her thoughts floated back over their long life together, she felt her emotions increase in intensity, she felt herself grow light-headed and she saw the room around her glowing with a brilliant white light.  
  
"Dawn!" Spike cried as he looked at her, "Dawn!"  
  
"Stay back Spike, you cannot help me now," even to her ears Dawn's voice sounded faint.  
  
"Spike! No!" Victoria came running up to him and reached him just in time to stop him from leaping after Dawn, "She has to do this alone."  
  
"Why?" Spike demanded of her, "Why does she have to do it alone?"  
  
"Because it's her destiny, her and her sister's."  
  
"Buffy? What's she got to do with it?"  
  
"She is destined to help Dawn, just as Dawn was always destined to do what she's doing, setting history back on it's track."  
  
Spike glanced at Victoria before staring at the place where Dawn had stood, "But can she do it?"  
  
To be continued in Timeless Again! 6 - Welcome Back to the Hellmouth 


	6. Chapter 6 Welcome Back to the Hellmouth

Title -Timeless Again! Part - 6 Part Title - Welcome Back to the Hellmouth  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (the_bard@mtnexus.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. "Welcome to the Hellmouth" Written by Joss Whedon and Directed by Charles Martin Smith. An excerpt from which was used here. "What's My Line, Part 1" Written by Howard Gordon & Marti Noxon and Directed by David Solomon. An excerpt from which was used here. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
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Timeless Again! Chapter 6 - Welcome Back to the Hellmouth  
  
As Dawn faded she had the weirdest sensation, as if someone had walked over her grave. What she saw as she moved across time she couldn't put into words, it was the most wondrous feeling, the most amazing sounds, the most incredible visions. And then, it was over.  
  
Dawn had appeared in what looked like the back of the old library at Sunnydale High School, she could hear Giles talking.  
  
"You really have no idea what's going on, do you? You think it's coincidence, your being here? That boy was just the beginning." Giles was saying.  
  
"Oh, why can't you people just leave me alone?" Dawn heard Buffy respond.  
  
"Because you are the Slayer." There was the sound of movement, "Into each generation a Slayer is born, one girl in all the world, a Chosen One, one born with the strength and skill to hunt the vampires..."  
  
"...with the strength and skill to hunt the vampires, to stop the spread of their evil blah, blah, blah... I've heard it, okay?" Buffy interrupted.  
  
"I really don't understand this attitude. You, you've accepted your duty, you, you've slain vampires before..."  
  
"Yeah, and I've both been there and done that, and I'm moving on."  
  
Dawn moved cautiously to end of a stack of books and peered round and saw Giles enter his office.  
  
"What do you know about this town?" he said to Buffy.  
  
"It's two hours on the freeway from Neiman Marcus?" Buffy answered sarcastically.  
  
Dawn noticed that there was something wrong with Buffy, she looked a lot younger than she should have been.  
  
"Dig a bit in the history of this place. You'll find a, a steady stream of fairly odd occurrences. Now, I believe this whole area is a center of mystical energy," Giles came out of his office with four books, "that things gravitate towards it that, that, that you might not find elsewhere."  
  
"Like vampires." Buffy said as Giles put the books down on the table.  
  
He started handing the volumes to Buffy's one by one as he listed off various monsters and demons.  
  
"Like zombies, werewolves, incubi, succubi, everything you've ever dreaded was under your bed, but told yourself couldn't be by the light of day. They're all real!"  
  
"What? You, like, sent away for the Time-Life series?" Buffy asked poking a little fun at the stuffy Englishman.  
  
Damn, Dawn thought to herself, I've come too far back. She concentrated and the world dissolved into a white haze as she moved forward in time.  
  
  
  
As Dawn appeared in a secluded area of the Sunnydale High lounge she saw Willow coming into the hall from outside, the redhead looked around at some of the displays being set up as she wandered towards the person with the sign up forms for the career aptitude test. Buffy and Xander were already sitting at a table filling out their tests.  
  
" 'Are you a people person, or do you prefer keeping your own company?' Well, what if I'm a people person who keeps his own company by default?" Xander asked.  
  
Willow picked up her test and headed to join them.  
  
"So, mark 'none of the above'." Buffy suggested helpfully.  
  
"Well, there are no boxes for 'none of the above'. That would introduce too many variables into their mushroom head, number-crunching little world," Xander said sarcastically.  
  
"I'm sensing bitterness," Willow said as she sat down  
  
"No, it's just these people can't tell from one multiple-choice test what we're gonna be doing for the rest of our lives. It's ridiculous!" Xander exclaimed.  
  
"I'm kinda curious to find out what sort of career I could have," Willow commented with a smile.  
  
"What, and suck all the spontaneity out of being young and stupid? I'd rather live in the dark,"  
  
"You're not gonna be young forever," Willow said looking at Xander.  
  
"Yes, but I'll always be stupid," he smirked and looked at the girls, "Okay, let's not all rush to disagree."  
  
Buffy looked up at him seriously, "You're not stupid."  
  
"Damn," Dawn said quietly, "Not far enough forward."  
  
  
  
Dawn was slowly getting annoyed with the seemingly random nature of her movements in time, she had so far been to twelve different times, none of them even close to when she wanted, the last was close to her own time, Dru's birth to be precise.  
  
So when she appeared in the upstairs of the Summers home she figured that the was probably in the wrong time, but she had to check anyway, so she poked her head out of the door.  
  
There walking towards her was Buffy, "Hey Dawny, what're you doing in..." Buffy broke off when she saw something further down the hall.  
  
Dawn turned her head to see what it was too.  
  
There at the end of the hall stood Dawn, not the dawn from the future, the Dawn from the present.  
  
"Wha...?" the Dawn from the now started to say.  
  
"Dormio iam." The Dawn from the future waved her hand at the younger Dawn, who promptly fell into a deep slumber.  
  
"What the hell is going on?" Buffy demanded.  
  
"It's okay, I... I'm from the future."  
  
Buffy just stood there in amazement.  
  
"I've come back to try to stop something bad from happening, but I don't know if I'm in the right time."  
  
"I don't understand, how can you move through time?"  
  
"It'll take too long to explain, but it has to do with the energy flowing through me."  
  
"The Key?" Buffy breathed.  
  
"Yes, what's the date?"  
  
"It's... ah it's the 23rd... of October."  
  
"The year? Please."  
  
"2000."  
  
"I'm not far enough forward, Buffy, I need you to keep this a secret from the other me, she can't know, you have to keep it a secret from her."  
  
"For how long?"  
  
"She'll start having visions in a few years, that's the sign where something starts going wrong, that's where I'm trying to get to, you can tell her then, if you want I can do a small spell to help you keep it a secret."  
  
"No, I can keep it a secret, but what do I tell her when she wakes up?"  
  
"Nothing, you won't need to, she'll think it was just a dream, but we'd better move her to her bed."  
  
  
  
After helping Buffy get her younger self into her bed, Dawn concentrated and felt herself move through time.  
  
This time when she reappeared she found herself in the lunch room of Sunnydale High, but this time it was different, it looked different. She glanced around and saw, sitting at a table over in a corner, the version of herself that had blonde tints in her hair, and her teenage friend Janice. Dawn focused her hearing so she could hear what they were saying.  
  
"Dawn?" Janice asked the younger Dawn snapping her out of whatever inner thoughts she was having..  
  
"Huh?" the younger Dawn said as she looked up at her best friend.  
  
"I said, what are you doing after school?"  
  
"Oh, um I dunno, probably just going home."  
  
"Coz we ere thinking of heading to the mall and hanging."  
  
"Who's we?"  
  
"Jimmy, Mac, Billy, Vicky and me, and hopefully you," Janice gave the younger Dawn a pleading look.  
  
"Yeah okay, I think Buffy'll let me go."  
  
"Hey, I heard Victoria saying that your sister got a job here."  
  
"Yeah," the younger Dawn gave her a very sour look.  
  
The older Dawn sympathised with her younger self, while in her past Buffy didn't get a job at Sunnydale High, simply because it wasn't rebuilt, but she did know what the other Dawn was feeling.  
  
"Man you must feel bummed, that's like bad karma or something."  
  
"Don't I know..." Dawn paused, "...it."  
  
As the older Dawn watched the younger Dawn fell off her chair and crashed onto the floor  
  
"Dawn!" cried Janice.  
  
The older Dawn moved forward, "help me get her to the nurse's office," she asked Janice.  
  
"Okay," Janice took one of the younger Dawn's arms while the older Dawn took the other, and they took the younger Dawn to see the school nurse.  
  
"Dawn!" came Buffy's voice from behind them, "What happened?"  
  
The older Dawn turned slightly to face Buffy.  
  
"You? What are you doing here?"  
  
"This is where I was trying to go."  
  
"Come on we should get her to the nurse's office"  
  
  
  
"Dawn? Dawn are you awake?" Buffy said as she leaned over the younger Dawn.  
  
"Unnn?" the younger Dawn tried to speak.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"I... I... ah... I dunno, I think I saw... saw..."  
  
"Saw what?" Buffy looked at her sister, she thought she could see the truth in her eyes but she had to make sure, "What did you see?"  
  
"I... ah think it was the future, Spike was there, but it was daytime, Spike was out in the daylight, and I felt something, I think I loved him."  
  
"Are you sure of that?"  
  
"I dunno, I think so, why?"  
  
"I wasn't supposed to tell you this, it happened back before mom died, you..."  
  
To be continued in Timeless Again! 7 - Changes, Changes And More Changes! 


	7. Chapter 7 Changes, Changes And More Cha...

Title -Timeless Again! Part - 7 Part Title - Changes, Changes And More Changes  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (the_bard@mtnexus.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
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Timeless Again! Chapter 7 - Changes, Changes And More Changes  
  
"Dawn? Dawn are you awake?" Buffy said as she leaned over the younger Dawn.  
  
"Unnn?" the younger Dawn tried to speak.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"I... I... ah... I dunno, I think I saw... saw..."  
  
"Saw what?" Buffy looked at her sister, she thought she could see the truth in her eyes but she had to make sure, "What did you see?"  
  
"I... ah think it was the future, Spike was there, but it was daytime, Spike was out in the daylight, and I felt something, I think I loved him."  
  
"Are you sure of that?"  
  
"I dunno, I think so, why?"  
  
"I wasn't supposed to tell you this, it happened back before mom died, you thought is was just a dream, but you appeared in the bathroom, well, not you, her," Buffy pointed over to the other side of the room.  
  
Dawn turned her head to look at where Buffy was pointing. There leaning against the wall was her. An almost exact duplicate of her, except, her hair, it was longer than Dawn's and it didn't have any blonde tints.  
  
"What? How?"  
  
"I can move through time," the older Dawn said.  
  
"And you came here?"  
  
"Yes, at some point soon you're going to be pulled into a limbo dimension, I'll rescue you, but the best way is to stop it from happening."  
  
"Okay, I'm not an expert on time here, but wouldn't that damage something? Or cause some problems?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Yes, a paradox, if I hadn't rescued the other me from limbo, I wouldn't have come back here to prevent it, in which case it would have happened," the older Dawn said, "Commonly called the Grandfather Paradox."  
  
Both Buffy and the younger Dawn were staring at her.  
  
"Sorry, I'm used to lecturing, Dru needs them often."  
  
"Dru?"  
  
"My daughter..." Dawn broke off when she realised that she was giving away too much information.  
  
"Daughter?" Buffy asked, she sounded like she was going into shock.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Who... who's the father?"  
  
"I... we should concentrate on making sure what I came back to..."  
  
"It's Spike isn't it?"  
  
The older Dawn hung her head slightly.  
  
"How? Vampires can't..." Buffy glanced at the younger Dawn, "... can't..."  
  
"Vampires with souls can, Angel did, so did Spike."  
  
"Spike gets a soul?!" Buffy exclaimed.  
  
"Eww, Spike?" asked the younger Dawn.  
  
"Things change over the next few... years, you and he will fall in love."  
  
"I can't believe you're telling my sister that it's alright to fall in love with a vampire!" Buffy exclaimed.  
  
"I'm not, you will, in about 10 years you tell me that you approve of Spike."  
  
"He tried to rape me!"  
  
"I know, and over the next years he redeems himself, with his soul he feels regret and he can feel love stronger than he could before."  
  
"I still can't believe Spike gets a soul."  
  
"He already has, you remember he took off just before you faced Willow?"  
  
"Yes," Buffy said with a confused look on her face.  
  
"He went to Africa, he went to see a demon, to get the demon to give him what he needed so he could give you what you needed."  
  
"I needed? What did I need?"  
  
"He thought you needed to be killed, he thought that was what the demon would do, take away his love for you, but it wasn't, you needed love, and in order to give that to you he needed a soul."  
  
"B-Buffy?" the younger Dawn's voice quaked.  
  
Both the older Dawn and Buffy looked at her... She was glowing green.  
  
"Oh my god, what's happening?" Buffy cried as she moved towards her sister.  
  
"Don't!" the older Dawn said grabbing her arm, "It's The Key, she's about to go."  
  
"Go? Go where?"  
  
"Limbo," the older Dawn answered.  
  
"Lim...?" the younger Dawn started to say before she froze, immobile and silent.  
  
"Can you do anything to help her?" Buffy asked looking at the older Dawn.  
  
"Yes, stand back," Dawn said as she moved towards the younger Dawn.  
  
The more time the older Dawn spent near the younger version the more fragmented her memories were becoming, she now had discerned at least six different version of certain periods in her personal past. Yet one thing that remained constant, her ability to shift between dimensions.  
  
So with this knowledge Dawn concentrated her entire essence on the younger Dawn, pushing her into limbo faster than she would have.  
  
"Dawn! What are you doing, she's fading!" Buffy cried as she moved towards the older Dawn.  
  
"DO NOT TOUCH ME!" Dawn's voice had taken on a metallic tone, almost as if it wasn't her voice, "I KNOW WHAT I AM DOING!"  
  
Buffy gave a small jump, it was frightening to her to hear this voice coming from her sister, even if it was a sister from the future.  
  
The older Dawn knew she should have been worried by the change to her voice, but she had, instead, a growing feeling of euphoria. She looked down at the younger Dawn, you was fading from view at an increasing speed.  
  
With a silent pop, the younger Dawn vanished.  
  
"Dawn!" Buffy leapt to the bed before turning to face the older Dawn, "What did you do?"  
  
"She's in limbo, she was already heading there, I just sped up the process, now, I go and get her out," Dawn concentrated willing her molecules to force their way through the barrier between the real world and limbo.  
  
  
  
Dawn felt her molecules reform when she opened her eyes she saw that she was standing outside the old Sunnydale High School.  
  
"Well, it shouldn't be that hard. We can work on the banners at lunch tomorrow and figure out refreshments then?" Dawn heard Buffy's voice from somewhere behind her.  
  
"Yeah, sure, whatever," came a voice she didn't recognise, Hey, meat pie!"  
  
Dawn turned around to see a young woman walking away from Buffy, and Willow and Xander walking up to her.  
  
"Snyder's got you guys making party favours, huh?" Xander asked Buffy.  
  
"His two worst students. That's what mom sees when she looks at me. A Sheila." Buffy said indicating the young woman who had walked off.  
  
The woman, Sheila, kissed an older boy with long, blonde hair.  
  
"Well, Sheila's definitely intense. That guy with her? That's the guy she *can* bring home to mother." Xander said with a touch of sarcasm  
  
"She was already smoking in fifth grade. Once I was lookout for her." Willow said, imparting her knowledge.  
  
"You're bad to the bone." Xander said looking at her.  
  
"I'm a rebel."  
  
"Damn," Dawn tried to figure out what went wrong, she had forced the younger Dawn into Limbo, and in the future the younger Dawn had pulled her into limbo, why couldn't she get into limbo now? She closed her eyes and focused all her strength on moving through the barrier into limbo.  
  
She felt her molecules force themselves through the barrier. Suddenly she hit something, something smashed through her sending her molecules spinning off towards all corners of the universe.  
  
To be continued in Timeless Again! 8 - Molecular Disunity 


	8. Chapter 8 Molecular Disunity

Title -Timeless Again! Part - 8 Part Title - Molecular Disunity  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (the_bard@mtnexus.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
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Timeless Again! Chapter 8 - Molecular Disunity  
  
The sun shone down on a clearing in the middle of the woods, through the middle of it ran a babbling stream over which loomed an ancient willow tree.  
  
At the foot of the tree was a red and white checked blanket laid out on which were the remains of a picnic. The champagne sat, opened and half empty, in a bucket of melting ice, the cold meats were arranged on plates, as were the salads and fruit.  
  
Leaning with his back against the tree was Spike, his eyes were closed and he was basking in the warmth of the sun, sitting between his legs leaning back against him was Dawn, her eyes were open, but rather unfocused. Both were enjoying the unusual feeling of having nothing to do.  
  
Spike opened his eyes, he moved his head to nuzzle at Dawn's neck.  
  
"Mmm... Spike?"  
  
"Yeah luv?"  
  
"How did we get here?"  
  
"How'd you mean luv?" Spike asked still nuzzling.  
  
"I don't remember driving here, so how did we get here?"  
  
"Dunno luv, just enjoy it."  
  
"A-and another thing, why aren't you bursting into flames?"  
  
"Dunno luv."  
  
Spike's nuzzling was becoming a little disorienting to Dawn so she pushed away from him and stood up, only to find herself dancing with Spike on the dance floor of The Bronze.  
  
"What? How did I get here?"  
  
"You've always been ere luv," Spike answered.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Luv, forget the questions, enjoy the evening."  
  
"No," Dawn stopped dancing and pushed away from Spike, "I want someone to tell me what the hell is going on here."  
  
Off to Dawn's left there was a silent pop and a bright flash, and a man in golden armour collapsed face first to the floor.  
  
Both Dawn and Spike rushed to his side and rolled him onto his back. The man looked like he was in his late 90s.  
  
"K-K-Key," the man sighed, "H-h-help us."  
  
"How? I don't know how."  
  
"Y-y-you have the k-k-knowledge."  
  
"But..." Dawn broke off as the man slipped into unconsciousness, "...I don't know what to do."  
  
"Eh, forget him luv, come dance," Spike said taking her hand.  
  
"Spike! Stop it! Something's very wrong here, get a glass of water."  
  
"Whatever you say luv," Spike said as he wandered off towards the bar which had suddenly become the bar in The Alibi Room.  
  
Dawn shook her head, a second ago she had been thinking about how many times she had watched Spike walk the same way towards the bar in The Alibi Room, and suddenly they were in The Alibi Room.  
  
Suddenly Dawn knew what she had to do. She began thinking that the man in the armour was younger and healthier and awake, she concentrated on that thought and before her eyes the man's face smoothed his hair grew darker and his skin firmed up.  
  
After nearly a minute of this the man's eyes flew open and he looked up at Dawn.  
  
"Thank you, Milady," he said in a richly accented voice. His accent was similar to Spike's but it was more refined and it sounded more eloquent.  
  
"Who are you?" Dawn asked as she helped the man up.  
  
"I am... an emissary."  
  
"An emissary from who?"  
  
"The Powers That Be," the way he said it you could hear the capital letters at the start of each word.  
  
"Where are we?"  
  
"This is a nexus, a connection point between all the different dimensions, it is somewhere that can bend itself to a person's will, as you just realised."  
  
"Why am I here? Why are you here?"  
  
"I'm here because you wanted someone to explain, this place called me here."  
  
"So, it was all because I wanted something that the places changed?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"You still haven't told me why I'm here," as they'd been talking the world around them had faded into whiteness.  
  
"There is a fault in the dimensions, in one dimension, you lived for thousands of years, until you were recruited into the Legion to fight in a war against demon kind, you turned the tide, as a reward you were rejuvenated and helped to rebuild the Legion, however when the Powers did that there was a problem."  
  
Dawn didn't like the way he said the word problem, "What sort of problem?"  
  
"There was a fluctuation in the time stream, it caused a part of you and Buffy to split off and merge with your younger selves, that has caused ripples, dimensions are collapsing onto, merging with, and overlaying others."  
  
"How can I help?"  
  
"You are The Key, The Powers have been trying to hold the multiverse together but their powers have been spread thin, they can't hold it together any more, they need help, that's why when you tried to get into Limbo they knocked you off course and sent you here, then stabilised just this place, so you could find all this out."  
  
Dawn stood there shaking her head at the man.  
  
"We need your help, reality needs your help, and the longer you take to decide the more dimensions are destroyed, and the further back in time the disruption goes."  
  
"But how can I help? I mean I don't have the kind of power you're thinking of."  
  
"But that's the point, you do..." the man broke off as he looked Dawn up and down, "No, you don't, your power has been diminished, why?"  
  
"I don't know, I didn't know it had."  
  
The man stared off into the distance for a moment, "You have a husband and a child?"  
  
"Yes," Dawn looked confused, what did Spike and Dru have to do with this.  
  
"Your husband is a vampire?" the man asked in a surprised tone.  
  
"With a soul."  
  
"Ah, there's why, your power has been shared with them, we need to get them here."  
  
"How?"  
  
"Take my hand, and think of them, think of the last time you saw them together."  
  
Dawn did as she was told, she took his hand and thought of Dru and Spike.  
  
There was a silent pop and all around them slowly melted into the Summers house in the year 2300, Spike and Dru were in the living room spinning round sort of in time to the music that was playing. It was Dru's 10th birthday, the celebration that was triply important, because first Dawn had been told that she could never have kids, then second because when she did astound the doctors by giving birth, Dru was given only a year to live, she was born with several birth defects that are one hundred percent lethal, yet she'd survived and the doctors were again astounded. Now she had just turned 10.  
  
"Yes, this is the perfect moment, one perfect moment, the moment her powers came to their peek," the man said looking at the happy father and daughter.  
  
"Her powers? She doesn't have any powers."  
  
"She did, you never saw them, you never encouraged them, so then never emerged."  
  
"Mom!" Dru cried as she ran full tilt towards Dawn.  
  
"Sweetheart!" Dawn said as she crouched down and enveloped Dru in a hug.  
  
"Dawn? Aren't you going to introduce us?" Spike asked looking at the man with unveiled suspicion.  
  
"Spike this is..." Dawn broke off realising that she didn't know the man's name.  
  
"Emissary," the man answered for her.  
  
"Emissary? Not the Emissary? From the Powers?" Spike asked looking at the man even more suspiciously.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Damn, I'd always heard that you were a myth."  
  
"No, just very rarely seen."  
  
"Which raises another question, why are you here?"  
  
Emissary looked Spike squarely in the face, "Simple, The Powers That Be need you, Dawn and Dru to save the multiverse."  
  
To be continued in Timeless Again! 9 - Out of Time, Out of Place 


	9. Chapter 9 Out of Time, Out of Place

Title -Timeless Again! Part - 9 Part Title - Out of Time, Out of Place  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (the_bard@mtnexus.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
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Timeless Again! Chapter 9 - Out of Time, Out of Place  
  
Spike was stunned but Emissary's revelation, "Us? Why?"  
  
"You three make up the sum total of the power of The Key, Dawn unknowingly gave up some of the power when she bonded with you, then more when she gave birth to Dru."  
  
"I still don't get it," Spike said looking confused.  
  
"Very well, allow me to enlighten you," Emissary reached into his tunic and pulled out a glowing orb, holding it in his right hand he extended it towards Spike, "Place your hand on the orb."  
  
Spike did as he was told, and as soon as his skin touched the orb the glow expanded to envelop his entire body.  
  
Spike saw a barrage of images and felt something worming it's way into his brain. Spike realised that it was new information, information that would be necessary to the mission ahead.  
  
The seconds ticked by, although to Spike it seemed like hours, Then suddenly the orb stopped glowing and Spike could move again.  
  
"Wot was that?" he asked, his accent thicker than usual.  
  
"A Remember Orb, one of only 3 in existence," Emissary said secreting the orb back into wherever it came from, "You know what you need to do, now please go."  
  
"We will," Dawn said moving to stand by Spike's side, "Dru, sweetie, come here."  
  
As the young girl skipped towards them, Dawn noticed for the first time how much she looked like she had when she was that age, not that she was ever really that age, so maybe, she thought, that should be what I remember looking like.  
  
"Yes mommy?" Dru asked.  
  
Dawn knelt down so she was level with Dru, "We're going to go a small trip."  
  
"Where to mommy?"  
  
"It's a surprise, sweetie."  
  
"Okay mommy," Dru said a huge smile creeping across her face, "I love surprises."  
  
Dawn smiled at her daughter, then looked up at Spike, "You ready to go?"  
  
"As ready as I'll ever be," Spike said reaching his hand to her.  
  
"Then let's go," Dawn took Spikes hand and stood up.  
  
Dawn gently spun Dru in between her and Spike, Spike let go of Dawn's hand and took hold of Dru's free hand.  
  
There was a silent pop followed by a flash of darkness and suddenly Emissary was alone in the house.  
  
"Oh no," he said quietly.  
  
"WHAT IS IT?" boomed a voice. In front of Emissary appeared what looked like a stone head.  
  
"Did you see what happened when they left?"  
  
"THE DARKNESS?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"WE DID, WE ARE CONCERNED."  
  
"As am I, My Lords, may I return?"  
  
"YES."  
  
"My life at your command, My Lords," as he spoke the words Emissary became translucent and slowly faded into nothing.  
  
  
  
Spike, Dawn and Dru fell for what seemed like ages before suddenly they felt a pull in a certain direction, following it they stepped out into a field. In the distance was a huge looking castle.  
  
Dru heard a noise above them and looked up, "Mommy, daddy, look," she said pointing into the sky.  
  
Dawn and Spike followed her pointed finger. Wheeling around in the sky, firing balls of flame at each other were two sets of flying creatures.  
  
"My God, are they what I think they are?" Dawn asked.  
  
"Dragons," Spike breathed, "Red ones and green ones."  
  
Dru clapped her hands and jumped up and down in joy, "Yippee."  
  
As the watched a green dragon close to them turned and began to head towards them. As it got closer they noticed that there was what looked like a giant saddle on it's back, riding in it were two men, both clad in armour similar to Emissary's however this armour looked more well worn, and even had touches of rust in several places.  
  
"By the Sages, who are ye?" called the knight, his voice carried with it a strong Scottish accent.  
  
"We have been sent by The Powers That Be," Dawn answered.  
  
"The Powers? Aye? They be sending us emissaries?"  
  
"Not quite, we are here to balance the forces of magick," Dawn told him.  
  
"The balance of magick? Aye, ye can, but first ye'll 'ave to tell that to the bloody English mad-dogs," the knight pointed to the red dragons.  
  
"Wot's going on?" Spike asked.  
  
The knight stared at Spike, "The Powers send us a bloody English dog? To hell, wit The Powers, they can send us a Scotsman," with that the knight tugged on the reigns and the dragon wheeled and took off back to join the battle.  
  
"Damn, bloody fools," Spike said angrily.  
  
"Why are they fighting mommy?" Dru asked tugging on Dawn's hand.  
  
Dawn knelt so she was level with Dru, "They're fighting because one side want's to take the other's land," she explained, keeping it simple for her daughter.  
  
"That is a silly thing to do, land belongs to itself, not to people."  
  
Spike looked down at both of them, "Out of the mouths of babes," he said with a smile.  
  
"Yeah, do you think they'd listen?"  
  
"Oh hell no, they've been fighting for a long time I believe," Spike said looking up at the fighting dragons.  
  
As they looked on a red dragon was struck with a fireball and with a scream that could have shattered windows it fell from the sky, as it fell Dawn gently turned Dru's head so she couldn't see it when it hit the ground, hard.  
  
"Dear God," Dawn breathed.  
  
"No wonder the balance of magick is upset," as Spike said the words another dragon fell from the sky.  
  
The sky began to darken and turn a deep crimson color.  
  
"And the sky runs red as with blood," Spike said.  
  
As they looked on a red liquid like look came over the sky, and then a wet but warm rain began to fall. A red rain.  
  
Dawn wiped some of it off her face and looked at it, "Blood?" she asked looking at Spike.  
  
Spike sniffed the air, "Yes."  
  
As the watched the blood spread further across the sky. As it did so, Dawn felt a twinge of pain in her stomach.  
  
Set against the background of the blood the dragons kept fighting, and as another fell to the ground, Dawn screamed in pain.  
  
"Dawn?! What is it?" Spike cried as he rushed to her.  
  
"They're destroying this world, each dragon they kill unravels the fabric that binds this world together," Dawn said looking into his eyes, fear showing in her own.  
  
"And if they don't stop?"  
  
"Magick will be destroyed forever."  
  
"Mommy? Look!" Dru called from where she was sitting.  
  
Spike and Dawn followed the line of her finger.  
  
Between the two sets of fighting dragons, a giant purple dragon was fading into being. This dragon must have been nearly ten times the size of the others.  
  
"Dear God!" Spike uttered in surprise.  
  
"What the hell is that?" Dawn asked.  
  
"That is the Mod'ro de Drago." Spike said, he sounded like he was in shock, "The mother of all dragons."  
  
To be continued in Timeless Again! 10 - Air Borne 


	10. Chapter 10 Air Borne

Title -Timeless Again! Part - 10 Part Title - Air Borne  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (the_bard@mtnexus.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
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Timeless Again! Chapter 10 - Air Borne  
  
As they watched the purple dragon opened it's mouth and let out a scream.  
  
"The mother of all dragons?" Dawn asked when the echoes ended, "You mean...?"  
  
"That all dragons come from her."  
  
"Dear God."  
  
"She's not happy, is she mommy?" Dru asked, she actually seemed to be enjoying the show.  
  
The appearance of the purple dragon had caused havoc with both the red and green dragons, there were several midair collisions and a lot of near misses, but by now the dragon armies had reorganized and the knights riding them were preparing for something.  
  
"What are they doing?" Dawn said in a hushed voice.  
  
Spike glanced at her, "I don't kno..."  
  
As Spike broke off the two armies of dragons let rip a barrage of fireballs at the purple dragon, who was too large to move out of the way.  
  
The purple dragon's scream was heard half way around the world. Her skin was alight and burning, Spike, Dawn and Dru could all smell the stench of burning flesh and were covering their noses to try to block it out.  
  
The purple dragon gave a small scream before plummeting to the ground. She hit the ground so hard the shockwaves could be felt for miles.  
  
"NOOOOOOO!" screamed Dawn, she could feel the pain of the world as the dragon died. She curled up into a ball to try to hide from the pain.  
  
"Dawn!" Spike gently pulled her up and turned her face towards him, when he saw her face, he let out a small gasp, "Dear God."  
  
Dawn's eyes were completely green and glowing.  
  
"They are destroying the magickal balance, they must be stopped," with that she shoved Spike away and got to her feet.  
  
"Dawn? What are you doing?" Spike asked, Dru was still sitting back watching.  
  
"Teaching them a lesson," she growled.  
  
As Spike watched, Dawn began to float up off the ground.  
  
"Dawn!"  
  
"Stay out of this, vampire."  
  
"Mommy?" Dru's voice carried a lot of fear in it.  
  
Spike moved to hold his daughter, "It'll be okay luv."  
  
Dawn flew upwards towards the dragons, "YOU WILL STOP!" despite the fact she was barely whispering, her voice echoed so much it could be heard for miles.  
  
The lead knights of both sides stared at this seemingly young woman floating between them, unarmed and undefended, both could see that she could be a thread to both sides.  
  
"Fire!" the both yelled at the same time.  
  
The two armies unleashed a slew of fireballs at Dawn, who being a lot smaller than the purple dragon was able to duck and dodge the fireballs.  
  
She flew right towards the lead dragon for the Scottish army.  
  
"Will you stop?" she called.  
  
"Never! We will never yield," came the response.  
  
"Then die!" Dawn thrust her arms towards the lead dragon. Bright green fireballs leapt from her hands and struck the dragon full on.  
  
The force of the fireballs was so strong they blasted the molecules of the dragon apart.  
  
On seeing their leader destroyed the rest of the green dragons went crazy, wheeling and turning to surround Dawn, in seconds she was surrounded by the entire dragon army.  
  
Dawn glanced around her, "You will want to get away from me. Now!"  
  
When no one moved, she snarled, "Fine!"  
  
Dawn curled up into a ball concentrating on pulling all her energy into herself, before flinging her arms and legs out. As she did a bubble of bright green energy.  
  
As the bubble expanded and hit the dragons surrounding her, each dragon it touched burst into flames then dust, like a vampire. Soon there were no green dragons left.  
  
But the energy didn't stop there, it kept expanding.  
  
The red dragon knights saw what was coming and wheeled their steeds round and moved as fast as they could away from the area, but to no avail, the energy just moved faster to catch up with them.  
  
Minutes passed, all the dragons were dust, there was not a living thing within miles of Dawn, except Spike and Dru, they had been spared.  
  
"Dawn!" Spike cried as Dawn plummeted from the sky, he ran to catch her.  
  
"Mommy??" Dru cried as she ran after Spike.  
  
Spike managed to catch his wife as she fell, "Dawn? Dawn! Wake up!"  
  
"S-Spike?" Dawn mumbled as she opened her eyes slightly.  
  
"Yeah luv, it's me."  
  
"I killed them, I killed them all," Dawn sounded disgusted with herself.  
  
"You didn't do it on purpose luv."  
  
"I did," Dawn looked up at Spike, the look of horror in her eyes chilled him to the bone, "I wanted them dead, I wanted them to hurt and I enjoyed it."  
  
"Oh luv," Spike hated the look in her eyes.  
  
"Get away from me!" she cried as she pushed herself out of his arms and away from him.  
  
"Dawn, luv, it's okay."  
  
"Mommy?" Dru was looking on worriedly.  
  
"Keep her away from me!" Dawn cried as she backed away from the two dearest people in her life.  
  
"Dawn, it's okay, it'll be alright."  
  
"NO!" Dawn screamed as she balled her hands into fists and pressed them to the sides of her head, "SHUT UP!"  
  
Spike looked at her with deep concern on his face.  
  
"I have to go," Dawn felt herself fading.  
  
From Spike's point of view Dawn glowed bright green for a second then vanished.  
  
  
  
Dawn felt herself leave the world and enter the void, that dark place, somewhere between then and now, and now and then. As she drifted her mind wandered back to the past.  
  
**FLASH**  
  
Dawn sighed in annoyance as she watched Buffy walk into the Magic Box, She walked around a little, then went back and peered between the blinds. Inside the shop she could see Buffy, Tara and Willow standing around as Giles kneeled beside a body.  
  
"Whatcha doin'?" came a voice from behind her.  
  
Dawn turned with a gasp to see a scruffy older man standing there, unshaven, his tie loose.  
  
"What are you doing here? You can't loiter. There's no loitering," the guy said, he sounded rather crazy.  
  
The guy advanced on Dawn, as he did she backed up, scared.  
  
"That's why I'm a cat. Quiet. See, cat's in the cupboard," the guy said as he made cat-scratching gestures with his hands, "but they find you there anyway, and it hurts."  
  
Dawn found her back up against a van. She looked around, scared.  
  
"Please, make it stop," the guy sobbed, before changing his tone, "Shut up, shut up, they'll hear you!"  
  
"Buff-" Dawn tried to cry out but broke off in a shriek as the guy put his finger on her lips.  
  
"I know you. Curds and whey," the guy said, Dawn looked shocked, "I know what you are, you ... don't ... belong ... here."  
  
Dawn shook her head, she felt like she was on the verge of tears.  
  
**FLASH**  
  
Dawn drifted through the void she had to come to terms with this power inside her, in the hundreds of years she had been alive, she'd never felt the kind of power she had displayed when she'd killed the knights.  
  
How could she accept that she could easily kill that many people?  
  
To be continued in Timeless Again! 11 - Needed, One Heroine 


	11. Chapter 11 Needed, One Heroine

Title -Timeless Again! Part - 11 Part Title - Needed, One Heroine  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (the_bard@mtnexus.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: "Beneath You", Written by Douglas Petrie, Directed by Nick Marck, (Original US Air Date October 1, 2002), two excerpts of which were used here. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
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Timeless Again! Chapter 11 - Needed, One Heroine  
  
Dawn sat in the backseat of Xander's four-door sedan, with Xander and Buffy in the front seats. Xander was driving Buffy and Dawn to school.  
  
"Could you die?" Dawn asked, "Cause, seriously, speaking for everybody who are me in the car right now, we're very excited."  
  
"Well, I'm glad for all of you then," Buffy replied  
  
"I mean, it's just so cool. You're coming to school with me. You'll be, like, there the whole time," Dawn paused, "You understand you cannot talk to me, look at me, or hang out with any of my friends, right?"  
  
"Look, I doubt we'll be seeing each other, assuming I even half-understand my fuzzy job description."  
  
"It's not fuzzy. You're, what, dealing with troubled kids?" Dawn said.  
  
"At a spanking new Hellmouth High. Please," Xander said, "Outside of drugs and violence and the unwanted pregnancy, and, uh, unleashing of hordes of Armageddon that comes pouring out of the school's foundation every now and then, what trouble could these kids have?"  
  
"Guess I'll find out," Buffy replied.  
  
"Those kids are damn lucky having a slayer and a friend on campus there for 'em. I hope they appreciate it. I know I did." Xander paused, "Days gone by, huh?"  
  
"I thought you hated Sunnydale," Dawn said.  
  
"Yes, and no, with an emphasis on the yes. But, at least then I was dating."  
  
"You could be dating now," Buffy pointed out.  
  
"Yeah. Um, I don't know what's not clicking for me right now."  
  
"Well, there's that thing with Anya," Buffy said.  
  
"That leaving her at the altar thing?" Xander asked.  
  
"Yeah, that one. That's not something you bounce right back from."  
  
"Sure it is. She bounced back to being a vengeance demon, and I bounced back to being a dateless nerd."  
  
"Do you guys talk at all?" Dawn asked.  
  
"I've seen her at the Bronze a couple of times. I guess there's a lot of scorned women there, making vengeance wishes on their exes."  
  
Buffy put on a southern accent, "I know that's where I go to get my scorn on."  
  
"You guys need to really to ease up with the whole dating demons thing," Dawn said.  
  
"Uh, hello, I'm sorry. Wasn't that you having the smooch-a-thon with teen vampire last Halloween?" Buffy asked.  
  
"See, this is why I don't want you talking to my friends," Dawn paused slightly, then sighed, "Oh."  
  
**FLASH**  
  
Dawn stood in the living room, she glanced around and saw Xander and another girl... Nancy, standing there too. Buffy come into the room, giving orders as she did.  
  
"OK, we're gonna split," Buffy said putting on her jacket, "Two pairs. Whatever this creature is, it's burrowing through solid ground. That means a strength and power that we don't usually deal with, but we may have to get used to now that the Hellmouth is getting all perky."  
  
Buffy walked over and opened the weapons chest.  
  
Nancy leaned over and whispered to Xander, "Shouldn't we call the police, or something?"  
  
"And tell them...?" Xander asked.  
  
"I'll stop interrupting."  
  
"Xander, take Nancy home. Drive, don't walk, and try not to stop 'til you get there," Buffy ordered.  
  
"Is your girlfriend always this... commanding?" Nancy asked Xander.  
  
"Who? Buffy? Oh, no, no, no, no, no. See, uh, I mean, she's a girl, and she's a friend, but she's not my girlfriend."  
  
"Xander..." Dawn warned.  
  
Xander turned to face Dawn. She gestured casually, brushing a finger on the side of her mouth.  
  
"...a little drool."  
  
He turned back to face Nancy and smiled with a nervous laugh.  
  
Buffy was holding a large dagger and a flashlight, "Spike and I will check out the scene."  
  
"OK, in the biggest way, I am not loving this plan," Xander said, then he turned to Buffy, "I am not loving Spike," he dropped his voice, "He tried to rape you."  
  
"And he failed. I know I can take him. Xander, take Nancy home. Spike and I will patrol," Buffy pointed out.  
  
"I'm command central," Dawn declared, "so everybody check in with me. OK, I'll be here doing my homework, but the other one sounded cooler."  
  
"Be safe," Buffy said to Dawn, before turning to Spike, "Let's go."  
  
"Righty-o, then."  
  
Buffy left the room and Spike started to follow as he did he passed Dawn, who spoke to him with a seriously cold glare.  
  
"Spike. You sleep, right? You. Vampires. You sleep."  
  
"Yeah. What's your point, niblet?" Spike asked her.  
  
"Well, I can't take you in a fight or anything, even with a chip in your head. But you do sleep. If you hurt my sister at all... touch her... you're gonna wake up on fire," she threatened.  
  
**FLASH**  
  
Dawn was sitting at the table working on her homework when there was a knock at the door.  
  
She glanced at the time, "Who could that be?" she asked herself.  
  
"Dawn, it's me," came Spike's voice, "let me in!"  
  
"Spike?" Dawn got up and moved towards the door, "Where's Buffy?"  
  
"What? Buffy?" Spike sounded confused, "Look luv, just let me in."  
  
Dawn reached the door and looked through the small windows in it, and standing there on the other side was Spike, but there was something different about him, not to mention he had a young girl in his arms.  
  
Dawn opened the door, "Spike? Who...?"  
  
Spike brushed past her and headed into the living room, he laid the girl on the couch.  
  
"Mommy?" the girl asked sleepily.  
  
"It's okay Dru, just go to sleep," Spike said as he stroked her arm gently.  
  
"Spike, who is she?" Dawn asked from the doorway.  
  
"Our daughter."  
  
"Our... As in you and me? Our daughter? But we've never... Eww," Dawn said with emotion.  
  
"No, we haven't, not yet."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"It's a long story."  
  
"Then make it short," Dawn demanded.  
  
"You are essentially immortal, in the future we are together, and Dru is our daughter."  
  
"No, that... That's not possible," Dawn said in a weak voice.  
  
"Dawn? Are you okay?" Spike asked as he moved towards her.  
  
"Stay away from me!" Dawn cried as she backed away from him.  
  
As she did she didn't notice the person standing in the doorway. Dawn kept backing away from Spike, moving further into the dining room, Spike kept advancing on her.  
  
"Dawn what's wrong?"  
  
"This can't be happening... This can't be... This..." Dawn said sounding more and more panicky.  
  
Suddenly she collapsed to the floor.  
  
Spike rushed to her side, "Dawn!"  
  
To be continued in Timeless Again! 12 - A New Dawning 


	12. Chapter 12 A New Dawning

Title -Timeless Again! Part - 12 Part Title - A New Dawning  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (the_bard@mtnexus.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------  
  
Timeless Again! Chapter 12 - A New Dawning  
  
"To Sleep perchance to dream," Dawn could hear a voice saying to her, "But now is not that time, you must awaken yourself, we cannot do it for you."  
  
"Huh?" Dawn replied.  
  
"Dawn?" this was Spike's voice.  
  
Dawn opened her eyes and stared up at Spike, she suddenly realised what it was that was different about him, he looked completely normal, the way he had last year, not the slightly crazy look he had earlier.  
  
"Some... Someone was quoting Hamlet."  
  
"Not me luv, and we're the only ones here."  
  
"Ooooh, what happened?" Dawn asked as she put her hand to her head.  
  
"You fainted."  
  
Suddenly events came flooding back to her, Spike arriving with the young girl in his arms, the young girl, their daughter, Spike telling her that she was immortal.  
  
"No, it's not possible," Dawn said in disbelief.  
  
"I know it's hard to believe, but we need your help."  
  
"How can I help? I'm just a normal teenager, I'm not The Key any more."  
  
"But that's just it, you are, we need you to tap into your power."  
  
"Why me?"  
  
"Because you're the only one who can." Spike said forcefully, "In all the different dimensions you are the only one remaining that can help us."  
  
"The only one remaining?"  
  
"There are many parallel universes, branching off from every single decision made, in each one there was a copy of you, they're missing, all of them, so like I said, you're the only one left."  
  
"How many? How many 'me's?" Dawn asked, despite being scared, she was intrigued.  
  
"At last count, around 48 billion."  
  
"And they're all gone?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"How? I-I mean is that even possible?"  
  
"We don't know how," came a male voice she didn't recognise.  
  
Dawn looked over Spike's should er at the person standing there, "Who...?"  
  
"I am Jason Armagosa, sorcerer apprentice to Merlin, and Knight General of the United Sorcerer's Armoured Forces of England," the man said while performing an elaborate bow.  
  
Dawn looked up at him sceptically.  
  
"Trust him Dawn, if not for him we'd never have gotten here."  
  
"How did you get here?"  
  
"Well, we were recruited by The Powers That Be to restore the universe, however the first world we went to was in turmoil, there were two dragon armies destroying one another," Spike said helping her up.  
  
"Dragons?" Dawn asked as she walked a little unsteadily to the table and sat down.  
  
"Yes, seeing the destruction going on, you lost control, you decided to punish them for what they were doing."  
  
"Oh... Oh my Go, I killed them didn't I?"  
  
"Yes," Spike said in a sad voice, "Then you went into shock and retreated from us, you vanished, without you Dru and I were stuck there, unable to get back to where we belong."  
  
"Then I found them, I was sent to find out what had happened to the armies when they vanished from the view of the seers, I found Spike and the young girl huddled together near the battle zone," Jason said.  
  
"We went back to the seers to see if they could locate you," Spike paused, "Well the other you, but they were unable to see her, they were unable to see anything outside of their castle, that universe was slowly collapsing, by now it's completely gone."  
  
"Gone?" Dawn whispered in shock as she lowered her head into her hands.  
  
"Look I know it's a lot to take in but we need you, we need you to help us get back our Dawn," Spike looked deep into her spectrum blue eyes, "You are the only one that can help us."  
  
"Mommy?" came the voice of a child from the living room, "Mommy!"  
  
Dawn looked up as she heard the sound of small running feet. The young girl that Spike had brought with him was running towards Dawn.  
  
Dawn moved back in her seat trying to get away from her.  
  
"Dru, sweetie, this isn't mommy," Spike said as he caught her before she reached Dawn.  
  
"She looks like mommy," Dru said to Spike in a confused tone.  
  
"You remember what we talked about? How there are many different versions of mommy and daddy?" Spike asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"This is one of the different versions."  
  
"Oh," Dru sounded a bit disappointed.  
  
"She's going to help us get mommy back."  
  
"I never said I would, I mean I-I can't, I don't.... I don't know how," Dawn said, she still sounded slightly in shock.  
  
"Luv, you're the only one that can."  
  
"No... No, I can't," Dawn was on the verge of tears.  
  
"Dawn, It's ok..." Spike started.  
  
"NO!" Dawn practically screamed, she leapt to her feet and ran out of the room and up the stairs. Seconds later there was a loud crash as she slammed the door to her room.  
  
"Spike, we need her," Jason said looking at the stairs.  
  
"I know, but we can't force her."  
  
"Daddy? Is the other mommy mad?" Dru asked.  
  
"Yes she is sweetie, how about you go into the living room and watch some TV, okay?"  
  
"Cartoons, goodie!" Dru said as she bounced her way into the living room, seconds later Spike and Jason heard the sound of some cartoon or other coming from the living room.  
  
"We don't even know if Dawn has enough power to help," Spike said with a frown on his face.  
  
"No, no one does, not even The Powers."  
  
"Then what happens if we fail?"  
  
"Armageddon, the apocalypse, the end of the world, take your pick."  
  
"And The Powers can't stop it?"  
  
"No, they are using all their power to stop existence from folding in on itself, but it's a loosing battle, they're weakening, they're dying."  
  
"We have to get Dawn to help us, and soon."  
  
"I know but how?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"I may have an idea." Jason said as he headed up the stairs.  
  
He stopped outside Dawn's door and knocked, "Dawn, it's Jason, can I come in?"  
  
"No," came the choked answer.  
  
"I need to talk to you."  
  
"O-okay."  
  
Jason opened the door and walked carefully in, he walked over to Dawn's bead where she was lying with her face in her arms.  
  
"We need you Dawn, and I know it's a big moment for you, and bottom line is, even if you see 'em coming, you're not ready for the big moments."  
  
Dawn looked up at him, her eyes were red from crying.  
  
"No one asks for their life to change, not really. But it does," Jason paused, "So what are we, helpless? Puppets? No. The big moments are gonna come. You can't help that. It's what you do afterwards that counts."  
  
Jason could see hope dawning in Dawn's eyes, "That's when you find out who you are."  
  
Jason looked deep into Dawn's eyes, "Who are you, Dawn? Who are you?"  
  
"The person who can help you?" Dawn said with doubt still in her eyes and voice.  
  
"You know the answer, you know it with all your soul."  
  
"I am The Key."  
  
To be continued in Timeless Again! 13 - Discovery 


	13. Chapter 13 Discovery

Title -Timeless Again! Part - 13 Part Title - Discovery  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (the_bard@mtnexus.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: "Beneath You", Written by Douglas Petrie, Directed by Nick Marck, (Original US Air Date October 1, 2002), an excerpt of which was used here. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------  
  
Timeless Again! Chapter 13 - Discovery  
  
"We need you Dawn, and I know it's a big moment for you, and bottom line is, even if you see 'em coming, you're not ready for the big moments."  
  
Dawn looked up at him, her eyes were red from crying.  
  
"No one asks for their life to change, not really. But it does," Jason paused, "So what are we, helpless? Puppets? No. The big moments are gonna come. You can't help that. It's what you do afterwards that counts."  
  
Jason could see hope dawning in Dawn's eyes, "That's when you find out who you are."  
  
Jason looked deep into Dawn's eyes, "Who are you, Dawn? Who are you?"  
  
"The person who can help you?" Dawn said with doubt still in her eyes and voice.  
  
"You know the answer, you know it with all your soul."  
  
"I am The Key."  
  
"You have the power inside you," Jason said looking at her, "You can use that power, to help us, to help existence."  
  
"But I don't know how."  
  
"No, and we don't have the time to teach you, we're going to need help."  
  
"The Watchers Council?" came a voice from the doorway.  
  
Dawn recognised it instantly, "Buffy?"  
  
"Yeah, Spike, the one downstairs, filled me in," Buffy said walking into the room.  
  
"No, we cannot trust the Watchers, they are corrupt to their core," Jason said with distain.  
  
"How do you know that? Spike told me you were from another dimension,"  
  
"The Watchers are something that like the Unholy Triumvirate span all the dimensions."  
  
"The Unholy Triumvirate?" Buffy looked confused.  
  
"The Wolf, the Ram and the Hart." Jason answered cryptically.  
  
"Wolf, Ram and Hart? Sounds like a law firm." Dawn said in a joking tone.  
  
"They are," Buffy said with a frown, "Angel's got problems with them in LA."  
  
"They're here?" Jason said in an astonished tone.  
  
"Yes, okay, so if we can't get help from the Watchers, then who can we go to?" Buffy asked sitting down on Dawn's bed.  
  
"There's only one group of people I can think of that could help us."  
  
"Who?" Buffy and Dawn asked at the same time.  
  
"The Druidic Hierarchy."  
  
"Druids?" Dawn asked in amazement.  
  
"Yes, in England, we'll have to take the Ghost Roads."  
  
"No! We can't take Dawn in there," Buffy exclaimed.  
  
"We have no choice." Jason said as he stood up and walked towards the door, "Coming?"  
  
"Yeah," Dawn said happily, she practically bounced off the bed and towards the door.  
  
"I'm coming too," Buffy said as she followed them.  
  
  
  
"England?" Spike asked.  
  
"Yes, and we have to go now." Jason said as he began chanting and waving his hands in the air.  
  
Within seconds a whirling portal opened in front of him.  
  
"What about Dru?" Dawn asked.  
  
"Xander's going to look after her," Spike said.  
  
"Oh, okay."  
  
  
  
Willow was sitting on a suitcase in an exterior doorway of a manor nestled in the English countryside, talking to Giles who had walked up the interior hallway toward her and leant with one arm on the doorjamb over her head. They both look out at the countryside.  
  
"The taxi's here," Giles told her.  
  
"I know."  
  
"And in keeping with a quaint old British tradition, you would now be expected to get into it."  
  
"I don't know if I can. Giles," Willow said, "I'm not done here."  
  
Giles walked around to talk to her face-to-face, he leaned on the opposite doorjamb, "That's your fear talking."  
  
"Yes, and my fear's a big, obnoxious blabbermouth. You're the one that keeps telling me to trust my instincts."  
  
"True," Giles nodded.  
  
"So, shouldn't we be listening?" Willow asked, "I don't want to go back home just so I can screw up again. I Why don't I stay? Not forever. Just long enough to, I don't know, make my fear shut up a little, maybe?"  
  
The taxi honked. Giles stepped outside and waved to acknowledge it. He turned to face Willow again.  
  
"It's possible, but... Try to be very specific. What exactly are you afraid of?"  
  
"Well, for starters," Willow began, "How 'bout the hellmouth's getting all rumbly again. And now I know it's got teeth. And are those literal teeth, 'cause I don't know if I can handle it. And what if I can handle it? Does that mean I have to be a bigger, badder badass than the source of all badness? And what if I give up all this control stuff and I go all veiny and homicidal again? And what if-"  
  
"They won't take you back?" Giles finished for her.  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"Willow, we could spend another two years here training and practicing and learning to hone your powers and still there'd be no way of knowing for sure that the friends you left behind you are still your friends."  
  
"Well, sure. I mean, if you put it that way, duh."  
  
"I'd love to offer you some guarantee that you'd be welcomed back to Sunnydale with open arms, but I can't." Giles told her, "You may not be wanted, but you will be needed."  
  
"That all you got?"  
  
"For the moment, yes."  
  
"OK. I guess I'd better..." Willow stood up.  
  
Giles picked up her suitcase and opened an umbrella, "Trust yourself, and the others might follow."  
  
They walked out towards the taxi.  
  
They were half way there when suddenly a crackling portal opened in front of them and out of it came barrelling four figures.  
  
"Well, that was a helluva ride," came a cockney voice that Willow and Giles knew all too well.  
  
"Spike?" Willow asked.  
  
"Hey red," Spike said as he helped the brunette figure up.  
  
Willow saw who it was almost instantly, "Dawn?"  
  
Giles was helping the blonde figure up, "Buffy?"  
  
"Yeah, we're on a field trip," Dawn said happily.  
  
"We need the help of the Druidic Hierarchy," the fourth figure said.  
  
"Giles, Willow, this is Jason, she's from another dimension," Buffy said.  
  
Willow suddenly noticed something, "Hey! Why isn't Spike on fire?"  
  
"Oh, sunscreen, very good stuff," Spike said with a smile.  
  
"One thing I don't get, Jason, you had the portal directed towards the Druidic Hierarchy right?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Yes, I did, I take it this is not them?"  
  
"No, it isn't, so why are we here?"  
  
"The only thing that could have caused this to happen would be a huge concentration of magick."  
  
Giles, Buffy and Dawn all looked at Willow.  
  
Willow looked each of them squarely in the face, "Me."  
  
To be continued in Timeless Again! 14 - Absolute Power 


	14. Chapter 14 Absolute Power

Title -Timeless Again! Part - 14 Part Title - Absolute Power  
  
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (the_bard@mtnexus.com)  
  
Pairing - Spike and Dawn  
  
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------  
  
Timeless Again! Chapter 14 - Absolute Power  
  
In the void Dawn floated, from her point of view she had been floating for almost a century, trying to accept the harm she had caused, she knew she should have more control over her powers, she had spent almost a century training to control them.  
  
"How could I kill them?" she asked herself.  
  
"To Sleep perchance to dream," Dawn could hear a voice saying to her, "But now is not that time, you must awaken yourself, we cannot do it for you."  
  
"What?" Dawn said, startled, she began looking around.  
  
"Awaken your power."  
  
  
  
"Willow, we need you to help us, it seems you have the power to access The Key energy locked inside Dawn," Jason explained, "To use that power to retrieve Dawn, the older Dawn, from the void she has banished herself to."  
  
"But what if something goes wrong?" Willow asked, she was really uncomfortable with the things he was asking of her.  
  
"Then I'm here to help."  
  
Willow looked at Giles for support, "It's up to you, Willow."  
  
Willow sighed, "Okay, I'll give it a go."  
  
"Thank you, I promise that things will be okay."  
  
  
  
In a dim office in a old brick gentleman's club a phone rang.  
  
A hand picked up the receiver, "Yes?" His voice resonated with a deep British accent.  
  
"It's Fronhiem," a male, cultured British voice came from the receiver, "The vampire is here, in England."  
  
"How did he bypass our security net?"  
  
"It seems he has come with a sorcerer, they used the Ghost Roads."  
  
"Is the Slayer with him?"  
  
"Yes, as is the Slayer's younger sister, she came through the Ghost Roads with them."  
  
"How did she do that? She is not magickally touched."  
  
"It would appear that she is, sir."  
  
"We need to find out how, she could be important."  
  
"Yes, sir, what do you suggest?"  
  
"Maintain surveillance, I'll inform the Board of Directors."  
  
"Yes, sir." Fronhiem said. A second later there was a click as the phone was disconnected.  
  
"So they're here." Came a female voice from further in the room.  
  
"Yes, the vampire, the Slayer, and the Slayer's sister."  
  
"She is here? The Slayer's sister?"  
  
"Yes, Ms Manheim, why?"  
  
"She is The Key, we need her for the plan," Ms Manheim said as she stood and walked towards the desk, "Mr Chambers, she is vital to the Board's plans."  
  
"I know," Mr Chambers said, he reached for the phone, "I will have to contact Mr Travers, he will want to know."  
  
The phone rang twice before it was picked up, "Quentin Travers."  
  
"Mr Travers, the Slayer is here in England."  
  
"When? And who is accompanying her?"  
  
"A short while ago, her, the vampire, Spike, and the Slayer's sister arrived at a manor in the countryside."  
  
"Rupert's estate?" Travers asked.  
  
"We believe so, yes."  
  
"Convene the Board, this is a disturbing development," with that he hung up the phone.  
  
  
  
Three hours later Quentin Travers was staring out of the window of his office.  
  
"If the Slayer is here then we may need to step up our plans." He said to the other occupant of the room.  
  
"I know Quentin, but we must keep the faith that things will work out," the man stood up and walked to stand next to Travers.  
  
"I know, but if the Slayer and the vampire are here then they must be either protecting The Key, or looking for it."  
  
"Then we will have to relieve them of that responsibility won't we?" the man said, "Now I must go, we can't have a board meeting without the chairperson can we?"  
  
"Yes, yes, quite right," Travers said absently still staring out the window.  
  
The other man turned and walked towards the door.  
  
"George?" Travers called.  
  
"Yes Quentin?"  
  
"We are doing the right thing aren't we?"  
  
"Yes we are," with that he walked out of the room.  
  
"Why do I not believe that?" Travers said to himself.  
  
  
  
"This meeting of the Board of Directors of The Watchers Council of Britain is called to order, Chairman Robert Bruce presiding," called the board crier.  
  
"Gentlemen, we have a situation," the man from Travers office, obviously Robert Bruce, said as he stood at the head of the table, "The Slayer is here in England, along with the vampire Spike, we believe that they are either here to find, or to protect The Key."  
  
"The Key? It is here?" asked a portly man sitting to Bruce's right.  
  
"We believe so, we believe it is currently located at Rupert Giles' manor in the country."  
  
"Has a retrieval teem been dispatched?" asked a man further down the table.  
  
"No, there may be some complications."  
  
"What sort of complications?" the portly man asked.  
  
"We believe they are in the company of a sorcerer and the Slayer's younger sister."  
  
"How did they slip past our security net?" another man asked.  
  
"The Ghost Roads, we are aware this means that the Slayer's sister has some magick in her."  
  
"One little girl like that could ruin our plans."  
  
"I know, we must find a way to retrieve The Key without turning the Slayer against us, we need to avoid contact with the vampire as much as possible as well."  
  
"I agree Robert, but how..." the portly man was interrupted by the trilling of a phone.  
  
"Yes?" Bruce said as he answered the phone, "Yes, the Board is here now ... No we didn't know that ... Are you sure? ... I see ... Yes that is a disturbing development ... No continue surveillance ... Yes, we will be in touch with new orders soon," Bruce hung up the phone receiver.  
  
"It seems," he said looking around the table at the men seated there, "That we have a problem, the vampire, Spike, is still in Sunnydale."  
  
"I thought you said that he was here in England?" the portly man said.  
  
"Yes, he is, we have surveillance on both of them, we have confirmed that they are both identical, with one small exception, the one in Sunnydale is, in the words of the watcher, crazy as a loon."  
  
"Then who, or what is the one here?"  
  
"It would appear that we have a visitor," Bruce said as he sat down.  
  
"A visitor?" the portly man asked.  
  
"It is possible that if they do have The Key then it is entirely possible that they can use it to transcend time itself."  
  
"Move through time?" another man asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
To be continued in Timeless Again! 15 - Corrupts Absolutely 


End file.
